<p>I am a Cal resident. Got into UIUC, USC, UCLA for CS and waitlisted at CMU for CS major at SCS. Got a scholarship of 50K for 4 yrs and James Scholar program at UIUC. Didn't get much Fin aid at USC and nothing at UCLA...How do I decide ...have to make a decision by May 1st...CMU will only tell after May 1st. Should I just forget about CMU?
How about the weather at Illinois...been in California all my life...don't know how I will deal with snow?
Please HELP!!</p>
<p>Is your scholarship at UI $50k over a four year period ($12.5k/yr?)</p>
<p>Yes it 12K per year for 4 yrs.</p>
<p>Then USC is out b/c it will cost, at minimum, $100k more than UI or UCLA (I assume you’re a CA resident – if not, then UI is by far your most cost effective option).</p>
<p>Given the scholarship, is the net 4 year cost of UI about $3k more per year than UCLA (in-state)? If so, that is a nice offer from UI.</p>
<p>Well, I studied CS back at UIUC in the 80’s and I live in California now. </p>
<p>Given the financial picture, I’d short list UIUC and UCLA. </p>
<p>They are both great schools. UIUC Engineering and CS are very highly rated and I loved my 4 years there. You’d experience a different part of the country. Not super easy to get to – 4 hours flight to Chicago and then another short flight to Champaign or a 3 hour drive. Most students are either in-state (mostly Chicago suburbs) or international grad students. I think they are now admitting a few more OOS students. </p>
<p>UCLA is also a fantastic school, but you already know California. </p>
<p>Weather – UIUC can be 100 degrees and humid in the summer, and -25 degrees and windy in the winter. I came out to CA for the 84 Rose Bowl when Illinois played UCLA (I was a senior) – 20 below when we left Chicago, 80 in Pasadena. It was part of the reason I accepted a job offer in California and I still live here. </p>
<p>I’d go with what you are most excited about and comfortable with, and be sure you are willing to deal with the hassles of winter travel and rough weather before going to UIUC.</p>
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Ahh, even after that 45-9 thumping you recovered enough to come out here? :)</p>
<p>^Wasn’t that Caltech over MIT?</p>
<p>DunninLA and ThisCouldBe Heaven,</p>
<p>You guys have great memories – I was going to mention the score but after years of therapy, I had barely gotten over that game. Then I went to the Illini-USC game a couple of years ago and re-lived the same experience, only it was worse because I had less to drink this time!</p>
<p>I have a friend who accepted a PhD fellowship at UIUC who was a lifelong CA resident and she got used to the weather. In fact when she came back to CA she would complain about the heat haha. It is not Chicago weather in Urbana-Champaign, it milder. Flights back and forth are reasonable to Chicago, but you should factor that into your cost. I agree it’s between UIUC and UCLA, I think it just depends where you are at personally. Do you feel up to a new challenge? or Do you prefer the comforts of home? How independent are you at this stage in your life? I know some students are ready to get away and others still want to be close to home. Nothing wrong with either option its just knowing oneself.</p>
<p>As for the city Urbana Champaign is a college town, but it actually has a good number of residents so its a small city as well. Everything you could want is a short drive away (within 10 min) from campus or walking distance. The public libraries are great (you won’t need to buy any music or rent any movies because the Urbana Free Library has it all!) and there is no traffic to deal with (I was amused by what “traffic” was considered when I visited - literally a 10 minute delay and that was it). Parking is not nearly as bad either, and the public transportation is good, so you can actually leave your car at home once you move out of the dorms. Downtown is small, but fun some cool cafe’s and bars (when you’re old enough ;-). Campus social life is pretty frat and drinking oriented, BUT there is also a “hippie ghetto” nearby so you can totally avoid the frat scene if you are not into it. I must say the local radio station is GREAT and there are some really good bands that play in the local bars/clubs as well - no joke I would put them up against some great local LA bands.</p>
<p>If you are into sports, there is NOTHING like Big 10 football games. UCLA @ Pauley for BBALL might be the only thing that REMOTELY comes close, but that’s only when the team is good (you know how fickle LA fans are) and when they are in contention for the PAC 10 - But I realized I didn’t know what college football was until I saw Ohio State @ Illinois. Visiting fans make a weekend out of it and come friday walk through town with their school colors, (the campus parking lot has a visitors section which fills up with motorhomes from visiting teams) but its the Midwest so everyone is pretty chill and has a good time with mocking each others teams. The stadium is on campus which makes a HUGE difference and the fans are diehards. </p>
<p>Also, the campus hosts some great concerts and gets some pretty big acts (Prince even played there a couple years back as did Iron and Wine and a huge rapper I forget the name of ) </p>
<p>The campus is also different, very much an old school feel. UCLA is beautiful undoubtedly, but it does not have that same old school vibe (Abraham Lincoln was president when he signed the land grant to found UIUC) that Illinois does. </p>
<p>UIUC will not be nearly as diverse at UCLA though and has had some issues with racial tension on campus (as most campuses have) especially around the American Indian mascot which was recently removed (but continues to be sponsored by the Alumni). </p>
<p>Well again its a tough but interesting/contrasting choice. I only mentioned a lot about UIUC because I figured you visited UCLA so I thought I would share. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Vociferous makes a lot of great points, almost all of which I agree with, about the social scene, fun Big Ten sports scene, ease of getting around, etc. The U of I is actually a pretty racially diverse campus (though not to the extent of UCLA), and I did not notice or experience racial tension when I was there, but it has been a while. As I think vociferous points out, hard to go wrong with either, but really depends on what you are ready/looking for, and which campus/school vibe you are most comfortable with. Good Luck!</p>
<p>UIUC, for academic and financial reasons.</p>
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<p>Ha, the same thing happened to my Dad when he came to see Illinois play in the Rose bowl in the early 1950’s The day after he graduated from UIUC, he got on Route 66 and headed straight to Westwood.</p>